Suprising truth about the pyramids (Egypt)

[Elumia]

This is a pretty cool article

This is basically what it is about:

As if the scientific evidence isn't enough, Barsoum has pointed out a number of common sense reasons why the pyramids were not likely constructed entirely of chiseled limestone blocks.

"How energy intensive and/or complicated can a 4,500 year old technology really be? The answer to both questions is not very," Barsoum explains. "The basic raw materials used for this early form of concrete-limestone, lime, and diatomaceous earth-can be found virtually anywhere in the world," he adds. "Replicating this method of construction would be cost effective, long lasting, and much more environmentally friendly than the current building material of choice: Portland cement that alone pumps roughly 6 billion tons of CO2 annually into the atmosphere when it's manufactured."

http://www.livescience.com/history/0705 ... amids.html

[Ira]

I also heard that a minimal number of slaves were used, Hebrew or otherwise. That this required skills, and that the majority of the workers were paid craftsmen.

Man, sorry to blow the lid off both testaments, but I saw it on the History Channel.

[Sierrajack]

Geez Ira, Hebrews? I am just amazed at how the Egyptians constructed these pyramids - like lifting 8 ton stones across the top of an inner tomb? The precision doing this is something we can't even do today and people may go on for centuries discussing how all this was done and we will never know for sure. Fascinating subject material however.
Yes Ira, maybe some Hebrewish forced labor (Moses)? however the rest were volunteers and lived on sight and did it out of respect for the great Googamooga or what ever they call the head honcho what's in charge.

[Elumia]

SierraJack,

The idea of the article is that they DIDN'T lift giant stones, that they cast them like concrete.

Either way, I bet they still needed a bunch of labor to haul the raw materials. It would've be much easier to haul a bunch of carts of limestone than huge rocks however. That is where forced labor could have come into play.

Makes you wonder how long the hoover dam will be standing....

Mark

[mwatters]

Hebrew Slaves:
Considering that the Bible pretty explicitly says that the Hebrews were building a city (it's named, but I'd have to look it up. I think the rough location is given too - nowhere near Giza) out of mud brick and not a pyramid out of stone - I don't think one affects the other significantly.

What I find most amazing about the whole "building the pyramids" thing is that people think that somehow because we can't figure out how somebody pulled off something - we quickly start asserting that they must not have done it. God forbid folks back then were pretty clever.

I'm spacing on the name of the process - but my recollection is that they're pretty confident that the workers on the pyramids came from the Egyptian version of taxes. You didn't supply MONEY (or goods) as taxes, but were typically expected to supply your LABOR for government projects for a certain fraction of the year. So their version of tax-freedom day was LITERALLY a tax freedom day.

[Sierrajack]

There was some Phd or what ever on one of the history channels trying to explain how the Egyptians lifted oblesks by wind power (kites). Lord knows how they did it, fact is those stones where extremely heavy and had to be moved quite a distance. The Jews were in fact looked upon favorably by the Egyptians initially but feared later by Rameses because they out numbered the Egyptians and were used as slaves (given task masters) later on. Now, I don't know in what capacity or even if they in fact worked on the pyramids (no bible reference). They were in fact making bricks with straw and mud - couldn't have been a pyramid. Seems to me that initially there were very few Jews in Egypt at the time the pyramids were started which is not to say they weren't prosecuted and used as slaves later on due to fear from the Pharoah (Moses and the Exodus).
The early Egyptians had quite a unique language as well which has never been seen since. They had such an incredible way to accurately measure distances and were accurate down to extremely small numbers - almost flawless. The construction of the pyramids took decades to accomplish and my belief is that they used a great deal of man power, using rudimentary lifting devices and methods over a long period of time. In some aerial photos of the Great Pyramid, you can see traces of a ramp which explains how they got stones to the top. Now getting there was yet another story. I don't know, I doubt that they "cast" stones on site and I sure don't believe they lifted 40 ton stones with a kite either.

[Kurt (Indiana)]

Mark, that is a very eye opening discovery.

Amazing what traditional thinkingf will do to plant a theory and maintain it for centuries.

Now.... to cast a teardrop...

[Ira]

Did anyone see that show where they tried to recreate the raising of an obelisk like they did in the "good old days?" It was really cool, and I think they did it in Egypt with real Egyptians--only they paid these guys a lot more.

Plus, I could swear one of them was wearing bifocals.

Another segment had them constructing ancient catapults.

COOL!!!

[sdtripper2]

Mark:

The Idea of early cement used to make the pyramids is a great break through in thought from the old school line.


Ira:

I am in complete agreement with you that the Discovery programs shown
on the obelisk & the ancient catapults building and moving were kewl.
Another I enjoyed is when scientists took Leonardo da Vinci's drawings and
made them, or how Roman war machinery was made.

For those that don't know what Ira is talking about here are some links.
Obelisk erection video
http://tinyurl.com/3asxtc
Trebuchet = catapult pictures
http://tinyurl.com/29e49c Canadian Video
http://www.trebuchet.com/video/
http://tinyurl.com/yuzyjd this link may be close to what Ira saw (click links)
http://www.catapultkits.com/
Leonardo da Vinci's webbed left hand
http://tinyurl.com/2t3qd9
The Great Robot race
http://tinyurl.com/pdkk6

[Joseph]

I understand the Egyptians are pretty pissed about the whole thing. Easy enough to understand - growing up with a sense of national pride in what appeared to be an impossible engineering feat, only to find it was probably done by a bunch of illegal immigrants from America...

Joseph

[sdtripper2]

Joseph:

Yur chumming the waters of discontent with your statements:

I understand the Egyptians are pretty pissed about the whole thing. Easy enough to understand - growing up with a sense of national pride in what appeared to be an impossible engineering feat, only to find it was probably done by a bunch of illegal immigrants from America...

[madjack]

I understand the Egyptians are pretty pissed about the whole thing. Easy enough to understand - growing up with a sense of national pride in what appeared to be an impossible engineering feat, only to find it was probably done by a bunch of illegal immigrants from America...

Joseph

...well ya know, what the hey, the Egyptians didn't wanna doit... .....................................

[bledsoe3]

Obelisk erection video
http://tinyurl.com/3asxtc

I'm afraid to click this link.

[asianflava]

Obelisk erection video
http://tinyurl.com/3asxtc

I'm afraid to click this link.

No doubt, especially here at work.

[sdtripper2]

Obelisk erection video
http://tinyurl.com/3asxtc

I'm afraid to click this link.

No doubt, especially here at work.

This is a G rated site guys.... would I point you to an X rated site



Jim & Rocky:
You guys got yur minds in X rated places with that small innuendo twist eh ~
Jim it figures you would find and point out this harmless URL as an OOPs link~